Replies to This ADM Discussion

Dealers cannot achieve this level (ever) with processed "video" slideshows, that get 0 hits, consistently. They have to put the time in. It's something that is built over time and it remains effective longer.

I would consider the basics to be a fully filled in (all fields populated) YouTube account/profile for the dealership with a Channel that contains their existing videos, such as TV commercials and any promo clips the dealership has created over time.

The "pinnacle" would be YouTube as an interactive Channel with fresh videos uploaded daily showing scenarios in the dealership, customer and employee interviews, stories about customers and how they use the vehicles they purchased from, or service at the dealership. Subscribers would be in the hundreds, which would include EVERY EMPLOYEE, as well as a good mix of customers and suppliers.

In the "pinnacle" scenario, the dealer's YouTube Channel would have automated syndication set up for all 6 of the current, and all of any future sites so that it effectively becomes a "Video Content Hub" that automatically posts new upload and activities onto these sites with YouTube Application Layer Integration.

The dealer's Channel Wallpaper/Background would be customized to reflect the dealership's branding, look and feel and dealership employees would post comments about each and every clip posted to the store's Channel.

Thanks for your replies Jason and Ralph. Some great tips for dealers there. I love your vision of the Pinnacle Ralph! So from what you've both said it might be stating the obvious, but it seems that there's no point in even having a channel if you're not willing to put the time in, as even the most basic channel requires investment -ie filling in the fields, spending ample time on each video (which can take minutes if not hours), refreshing content regularly - if not daily, branding etc. I was interested to hear your point in regard to new vs used Jason, could you expand on that? Also, given the investment in time required for all the reasons outlined above, do you still think it's a pre-requisite for dealers to have a channel these days or should dealers less than a certain size concentrate on other platforms? Thanks - great debate!

New car videos seem to outperform used car videos for several obvious reasons including new changes in innovation, current manufacturer marketing, enthusiast followers and self promoters of their favorite models, and the general desire to want new over used by most buyers, if they had the choice. Used researchers pretty much already know what they want from their budget and professional ratings, reviews and statistics on their prenowned choices. They may ask a mechanic or friend. Third basemen are typical on a used car deal vs. new in my experience.

As far as dealers having a YouTube channel for their dealer, of course they need one dedicated channel. It can feed a multitude of other sites by embedding. I would expect great things from YouTube in the future. It is a household brand now. It's something that takes time to build properly. There are plenty of sloppy businesses out there that produce poor results. You can get one of those up and running in no time flat. The best ones take time, talent and effort. It's better to start sooner than later.

A lot of dealers place them on YouTube, but like yours, they get few hits. Yours only has 73 hits (above average in my opinion) and it doesn't indicate it has been sold. I also think you're selling yourself and the dealer more than the car. That is also good. That was my take away. I like it. Most dealers won't put in that much time and effort. You're creating a following for yourself and that will work on YouTube. I like the acrobatics coming out of the EOS! I really like your style too! Keep it up. This can work. It's not typical. A new car will get thousands of hits when the timing is done right. Everything is about brand recognition. I think you're doing that with your style as well. Huge hits still will not come on Used, typically. A buyer usually cannot find the same color miles and quality, easily. New cars are all the same. We just bring in another.

If you left that dealer, those videos may not be valuable to their marketing campaign, since you are seen in the video. I recommend dealers shooting the car and keeping employees in the background or out of the shoot in case they move to another dealer. The video should have long term goals. At lease a year, until the next model year comes in with new changes.

Not sure if you ever sold cars for a living, but as for "indicating if the car was sold or not"(it was because of this clip! lol), see in my opinion, .....who cares??? lol!!!!

And here`s my thought.......

To me it`s all about Internet Saturation!!~ I want to be everywhere on the Internet!!! Sold/Unsold/Deposit on it....doesn`t matter to me....lol.......

Sooooooooooo let`s say someone comes in looking for that Red Beetle Convertible...... "Ohhhh I`m sorry but we sold that one, however I just got in this super low-mileage, Beetle that`s in even better shape than the one you saw & is even a tad cheaper!"............ ya gotta work it constantly Jason & be able to "dance" or think on your feet!~ lol.........

"Huge hits".....????? Again,..... who cares????? lol........... listen up,...drum roll please........... YOU DO NOT SELL CARS ON YOU TUBE!!!!!!".........lol.......... butttttttttt....... there are other very cool ways to utilize the You Tube clips that will definitely enhance your selling capabilities & increase your chances of selling that car on the `Net my friend.............(shhhhhhhhhh.......can`t really share all of my "Covert Digital Marketing" secrets here!.....lol)

"If you left that dealer, those videos may not be valuable to their marketing campaign".......... again,....... who cares?? I left!!!!!! ....lol....... And quite frankly, I`m not so sure that I agree with that statement,........ as I had quite a following where I came from & after 6 years of not being these anymore, I understand that customers still come in asking for me on a rare occasion...... this is obviously the result of what the customer`s overall perception was of me & how their overall experience was.

I love the way Ken Beam produces these used car videos, and I know of at least a dozen other dealers who have copied this style. Including, the focus on differentiating features, like the height adjustable seats, or the Tiptronic transmission. Dealers who have followed Ken's style with their own versions of these used car videos (Phoenix, San Diego, Chicago, Boston, New York, San Antonio and Miami) have reported back to me that the posting these clips on YouTube has resulted in not only selling the car, but selling them at the listed price. From both personal experience and what many dealers have reported to me, these types of well produced used car videos posted on YouTube not only attract buyers to the dealership, but result in the sale of the vehicle featured at selling prices more consistent with the dealer's list price... Higher grosses, now isn't that worth 30 minutes of time on a used vehicle?

Hey Ralph! Thanks a lot for the nice words, I really appreciate that. There`s all kinds of "Authorities" & critics out there in cyber-land obviously........ but ya know what?? You can either talk the talk OR walk the walk...... and ya know what Ralph? I`d prefer to walk it! People can critique you on just about anything....... "Ken you really shouldn`t say it like that" OR "Ken you really shouldn`t do it like this in your clips, you should do it this way"......... lol..... well ya know what?? Sooner or later someone out there WILL like that car that I`m showing and guess what?? BAM! The dealership sells another car! So while other dealers are still sitting there saying, "That guy Ken Beam is a little crazy, I`d never do that kind of stuff"............. You can either go-with-the-flow & drift downstream with the current & be just like everybody else OR say screw it & paddle upstream AGAINST the current! Just give me the oar!

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